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Treasure Coast Criminal Lawyer Blog

Michael R. Ohle, Esq.
Here's a scenario that plays out almost daily in Florida's criminal justice system: A woman in Vero Beach is approached by law enforcement officers who suspect illicit activity related to controlled substances. The officers search her and find a specific amount of marijuana in her possession.
The woman is arrested, taken to a booking facility and released overnight along with a printout that summarizes her legal situation. When the woman, who is now a defendant, reads the paper received at the jailhouse, she is surprised to find the term "trafficking" on the printout. Naturally, the defendant will ...

Michael R. Ohle, Esq.
Whenever you read the metro or police beat sections of Florida newspapers, you are likely to run into news items such as the following: "Jane Doe, 28, 300th block of 14th Street, Fort Pierce; trafficking in marijuana in excess of X pounds or X plants or more." Such a news item usually indicates that law enforcement officers from a city, county or state agency found probable cause to make an arrest under drug trafficking statutes in Florida.
"Trafficking" is an all-encompassing term used to describe a number of prohibited acts related to controlled substances in the Sunshine ...

Learn When to Say 'No'

With more than 40,000 arrests for drinking and driving in Florida per year, there is a good chance for you to find yourself in such a situation as you drive in or around Fort Pierce, Okeechobee, Port St. Lucie, Stuart or Vero Beach.
Should you ever be pulled over under suspicion of DUI, you will more than likely be asked to perform a field sobriety test right by the side of the road, and you will have a choice to either go through with it or refuse it. What should you do?
Understanding ...

Michael R. Ohle, Esq.
According to statistics compiled by the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence, law enforcement officers responded to more than 106,000 cases of domestic violence in 2014. Out of all those cases, nearly 65,000 resulted in arrests.
The legal definition of “domestic violence” in Florida is set forth by statutes 741.28 through 741.31. A cursory glance at the statute reveals that domestic violence in the Sunshine State is a multidimensional criminal offense that extends beyond the purview and jurisdiction of family court. Assault and battery are just two of the actions associated with domestic violence ...

A recent Florida court opinion provides evidence that some law enforcement agencies in our state are using controversial technology that allows them to secretly collect data from cellphones and track the movements of people using them.
The so-called "Stingray" is a mobile device about the size of a brief case, which is typically mounted inside a police vehicle. Stingrays impersonate a cell phone tower, prompting cell phones and other wireless devices in their vicinity to communicate with them. The technology gives police the ability to track phone movements with extreme precision and intercept both phone calls and text messages ...

On Monday, jury selection began in the case of a Florida man who fatally shot a Jacksonville teenager in the parking lot of a gas station. Michael David Dunn told police during a pretrial interview that he was parked outside the gas station when an SUV occupied by an unknown number of teenagers began playing loud music. Dunn asked them to turn the music down and a verbal altercation ensued. According to Dunn, the situation escalated when he saw one of the back seat passengers of the Dodge Durango reach down and pick up an object that appeared ...

In November 2014, Florida voters will have the opportunity to decide whether to allow the use of medical marijuana in our state. This comes after the Florida Supreme Court approved the language of a ballot measure that, if passed, would allow the use of the drug by individuals with “debilitating diseases as determined by a licensed Florida physician.” At this time 20 states plus the District of Columbia allow for the growth, distribution, and possession of marijuana for medicinal purposes. Two states, Colorado and Washington, have legalized recreational use. Click here to read more.
As the legal landscape ...

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